John Halls came through the ranks at Arsenal, was a star at Stoke City, and played in the Premier League for Reading, but remarkably it’s not his football career which has been his greatest success.
Having stumbled into work as an international model since hanging up his boots, Halls is understandably a man that exudes confidence.
He is one of the lucky few to have both natural talent and good looks, traits he has to thank for making him successful in two careers at opposite ends of the spectrum.
But his story is certainly not one of just ups. In fact, sitting down with him in a London cafe, he refers to several decisions he made during his football career that he wishes he could change.
And no matter how glamorous his new life may be, it’s clear he would like to have extended his former one.
Having won the FA Youth Cup with Arsenal and then breaking into the first-team squad, making three League Cup appearances, Halls expected to achieve more in the game than he managed.
“I was very lucky and privileged to come through at a team like Arsenal,” he says.
“It wasn’t until I left the Arsenal I thought, ‘Oh my God, I was training every day with Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp.’
“At the time I was as a cocky young lad, thinking I was better than everyone, thinking, ‘I should be playing in front of him and him.’
“It’s only when you come away from it and think about different aspects of life you realise how privileged you were.
“I always fully believed in myself, as most footballers do, and I did have a little break at 17 or 18, making the bench at Charlton – Nelson Vivas missed a penalty and we lost 1-0.
“I did my knee after that, so I was out for a while, then I got back and was included in the League Cup squads again and was on the bench when Dennis Bergkamp scored that ridiculous goal at Newcastle.”
Life after Arsenal
Despite confidence in his own ability, opportunities were limited for Halls. He still saw a future for himself at Arsenal when loaned out to Colchester United and Beveren, but things changed when Tony Pulis took him to Stoke City on loan in 2003.
It was a deal that was made permanent that December.
“It’s always hard to leave a club like Arsenal,” he says, “as the way we were taught in my era was incredibly different to even the Championship and lower Premier League, which meant when you had to leave and go down a level, it was quite hard.
“But I went to Stoke City on loan and played every…
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